Love Is Only an Illusion

The day quickly came to a close as the sun set. Sutton sat out in the cold air on the balcony with a blanket wrapped around her. Sitting outside reminded her of home. The crisp wind snuck its way into her favorite blanket and chilling her slightly. It was a Scooby-Doo one her grandmother had given to her when she was about 13-years-old. It was accompanied by a Scooby-Doo stuffed animal, which she still slept with to this very day.

“It’s beautiful, huh?” a voice interrupted Sutton’s memory. She turned to see the older mentalist smiling at her, his blue eyes sparkling from the sun’s melting rays.

“Yeah,” she smiled back as she accepted a cup of hot chocolate from Merritt, no doubt brought out to her on Henley’s orders.

Merritt took a seat on the chair next to her, a cup of his own in hand. They sipped their hot beverages slowly as the sun sank.

“Tell me about her,” Merritt spoke.

Sutton turned toward him, reading his smile easily. “She was the best grandma in the world,” Sutton smiled. “She always knew exactly what to say, what to do. I never had to say a word when I was upset. She just held me, never forcing me to speak until I was ready.”

“She sounds lovely,” Merritt almost whispered, a smile still plastered on his face as he listened closely.

Sutton smiled at him, appreciating his interpretation of her beloved family member. “My grandma always spoke her mind, kind of like Danny,” she chuckled. “She wouldn’t lie to satisfy anyone, but she would always tell me I was the most beautiful girl in the world.”

“Which is certainly not a lie,” Merritt smiled, causing Sutton to giggle and blush.

Sutton reached out for Merritt’s hand. “Thank you for listening.” He nodded. “I really appreciate having someone who just listens and doesn’t need to interject their opinion on me.”

“Consider it a favor for being probably the only fan I have left,” he joked.

The two sat and joked a bit longer before Jack asked if they wanted to join in on watching Spider-Man, which they graciously accepted.

“Who picked the movie?” Sutton asked, curious as to who was also a fan of the web-slinging superhero.

“Danny,” Jack pointed as the illusionist emerged from the kitchen, a large bowl of popcorn in his hands.

Of course it was Danny, Sutton thought, taking a seat on Jack’s air mattress. Danny sat beside her on his own mattress.

“Popcorn?” he asked her. She nodded, setting the bowl atop her crisscrossed legs as the two men beside her grabbed handfuls.

“I figured we would discuss the next year tomorrow,” Danny said, “so a movie night was needed as to keep the four of you from becoming grumpy.”

As the other three argued with Danny, Sutton just rolled her eyes and watched as the spider bit Tobey Maguire. She stuffed a handful of popcorn into her mouth.

~~

Over the next few days, the team discussed more of the details of the plan. The next morning came quickly as Sutton stretched in her bed. She rose and completed her morning routines as normal without meeting Danny at the bathroom door.

Returning to her room, Sutton stared at her figure in the mirror, as she always had a tendency to do. Before she begun to delve too deeply into her flaws, Sutton changed into a pair of black leggings and a gray and peach top. She snapped her necklace closed, pulled her hair into a messy bun, and slid her glasses up the bridge of her nose, dreading the adventure ahead of her for the day.

“Morning,” Danny groggily spoke as Sutton jumped over his mattress which was blocking the way to the kitchen.

Sutton turned quickly as she landed, startled. “Gosh, don’t do that.”

“Sorry,” he mumbled, rolling back over to sleep some more.

“Danny, you may want to get up,” Sutton suggested. “You know how long the others take in the bathroom.” With that, he bolted for the bathroom. Sutton laughed.

~~

Once the friends had eaten and prepared for the day ahead, they sat down at the table. Three laptops were open and running with Henley’s connected to a printer. Danny and Sutton sat side by side as they navigated through the blueprints for the umpteenth time.

The other three watched in amazement at how similar the two’s motions were. Sutton’s and Danny’s eyes scanned the screens in front of them, mumbling information to one another at a tone inaudible to the other three.

“For crying out loud, you two!” Merritt burst, causing Sutton and Danny to jump and look at him. “Will you two speak in a tone heard by more than just dogs?”

“I’m sorry,” Sutton apologized as Danny slunk down in his chair, his chin resting on his left hand. “Danny and I were saying that it looks like we will need to rob a bank first in or-“

“Rob a bank?” Henley blurted. “Sutton Sawyer, do you hear yourself?” The boys giggled lightly.

“’Sutton Sawyer’?” Jack stifled a laugh.

Sutton glared at her new friend, who shot his hands up in defense. “Henley, we all agreed to this. I’m in it whether I like it or not.” She sighed heavily. “We need to rob a bank first in order for Tressler and everyone else to believe that our magic is tangible. You know, that they can really see the product of it in front of them.”

“Once they believe it, we will be able to steal the money from Tressler himself and transfer the money back to the victims of Hurricane Katrina,” Danny added.

“There better be a play-by-play for this,” Jack hoped.

Danny looked at him in confusion, mouthing the words “play-by-play” in hopes of remembering what they meant. Sutton rolled her eyes at his inability to notice a sports reference. “Yes, they gave us every little detail. All we need to do is follow exactly what is written.”

“But, do you think Tressler will really agree to help us become famous in the first place?” Merritt questioned.

“I looked into his wife Jasmine a bit more,” Henley spoke, pulling up a web page on her laptop, which had stopped printing long ago. “She is involved in a lot of fundraisers for aspiring people, like women fighting for more rights in STEM programs and young people wanting to travel. We don’t entirely fit that bill, but I am sure she has more sympathy than Tressler himself.”

“I guess it’s up to you two,” Merritt smiled at the two behind the laptops.

Danny looked at Sutton and smiled. She returned it, but regretted the choice when Danny opened his mouth.

“Don’t screw up.”